For the health and safety of employees during this COVID-19 crisis, companies across the world are asking staff to work from home in an effort to gain control over this pandemic. At the same time, consumer packaged goods (CPG), food and beverage, and pharmaceutical manufacturers are being asked to amp up production to fill grocery store shelves, as well as deliver medical test kits and, ultimately, find a coronavirus vaccine.
Understanding that this is a challenging situation for manufacturers, GE Digital is providing a temporary solution. The technology supplier is offering free remote monitoring and control licenses to its iFix and Cimplicity HMI/SCADA customers, empowering them to work remotely and continue to keep their plants running during this difficult time.
The web-based offering gives plant operators and management teams real-time monitoring and control access to plant operations and performance over a secure-by-design connection, like a virtual private network (VPN). According to the company, this allows critical infrastructure to operate with a reduced crew on site, while being able to coordinate with their wider teams remotely.
“By making this solution available for free to our 20,000 automation software customers, we hope to make it easier for them to continue to provide vital services to our communities as we work together to slow the spread of the virus,” said Matt Wells, GE Digital’s vice president of product management in a blog post.
The iFix product leverages the latest HMI/SCADA technologies that deliver faster time-to-insight and greater efficiency for operators. An intuitive user experience reduces operator errors and improves response time to events and incidents. Cimplicity provides client-server visualization and control—from single machines to plant locations spanning the world—helping to manage operations and improve decision making.
GE Digital is making available a free 90-day client license for:
· iClient Thin – Terminal Services
· iClient Thick
· Proficy Webspace for Cimplicity
· Cimplicity Viewer with Terminal Services option
· Cimplicity Viewer
Customers can choose from thick, thin or web clients based on their company policies to securely connect to their production systems and execute tasks to keep operations running.
“Our customers are on the front line of solving the world’s toughest industrial challenges,” Wells said. “By enabling mobile workers, industrial companies are better able to ensure the safety of their workers while continuing to serve their customers.”
In order to get this no-cost temporary license, please contact a local authorized GE Digital partner or send a request to [email protected]
